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Category: Local News Archive

HUDSON (AP) — A 73-year-old man has died in a mobile home fire in Angelina County. Authorities pronounced Ed Clark dead at the scene of the early Monday fire in Hudson, located just west of Lufkin. Hudson Fire Marshal Joe Burton tells The Lufkin News that the fire remains under investigation. He says the point of origin though appears to be around a gas heater installed in the living room. He says the victim was known to wear oxygen and he feels that the oxygen tubing might have gotten around the heater’s pilot lighting. Next door neighbor Walter Ginn said neighbors tried to rescue Clark before firefighters arrived, but as they made the attempt after seeing him lying on the floor near the front door, something exploded.

EMORY — Rains County Attorney Robert F. Vititow reports Brandon Couch has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for murdering his grandmother on November 14, 2012. According to KETK, the sentence was handed down by Judge Paul Banner, the fourth judge assigned to the case. Couch had opted to have the judge impose the sentence after the jury returned a guilty verdict. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER — Following jury selection Monday, trial proceedings for an East Texas grandmother are slated to begin today in Tyler. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, on the night of July 31, Glynda Denise Morrow, 54, Chandler, was driving on County Road 1113, also known as Lake Placid Road, in Smith County with her 5-year-old granddaughter. According to accident reports, Morrow’s SUV ran off the road and hit a tree. Both Morrow and her granddaughter, Lydia Sykes, were taken to the hospital. The child later died from her injuries. According to KETK, Morrow’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was over the state’s legal limit of .08.

LONGVIEW — Money is being raised so a 5-year-old Longview boy can be treated in Colorado with cannaboid oil, which comes from marijuana. Rachel Johnson says little Lleyton has up to 30 seizures a day and the plan is to move there for a 30 day trial period. Her family needs eight thousand dollars. She doesn’t want to have to move away for good. There are stories of numerous kids, like Lleyton, who are doing well with the treatment. A bill in front of the state legislature would legalize a weak form of cannaboid oil, which Johnson says may not be strong enough to help her son.

LONGVIEW – A Longview home has been damaged when hit by a pickup. The accident occurred Saturday night near the intersection of Oakdale and 12th streets. Firefighters had to remove the driver from the pickup. Longview police have not released the driver’s name or condition. It marks the second time a vehicle has hit that home.

TYLER — The annual Smith County-Wide Clean Up began Monday and runs through May 2nd. Smith County citizens can pick up vouchers to take 3 cubic yards of solid waste, which fills the bed of a regular sized pickup, and/or bulk items to be disposed of at the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. Vouchers are available at the Smith County Annex Building, 200 East Ferguson, or at any Smith County Constable or Justice of the Peace Office. The vouchers will be good for 6:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday and 6:30am to noon on Saturday, March 30 through May 2, 2015. The Greenwood Farms Landfill is at 12920 Farm-to-Market Road 2767, or Old Kilgore Highway, in Tyler. Maps to the landfill will be handed out with the vouchers. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of March 30. Schedules are subject to change due to weather or equipment related issues.

SMITH COUNTY – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) maintenance crews in Tyler are performing base repairs on State Highway 135 between Troup and Arp with the roadway reduced to one travel lane and flaggers conducting traffic. The same work is being conducted on Farm Road 2015 from Farm Road 16 to Farm Road 14 Expect lane closures. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER – Multiple vehicle burglaries may have been solved with the arrest of three suspects. The burglaries were first reported in the Flint area earlier this month. Charged with theft over $1,500 and under $20,000 are Tyrell Deshaun Choice and Triston Travon Hudson. Charged with credit/debit card abuse is Ahteuhna Taylor.(pictured) All three are from Tyler. Bonds on each were set at $500,000. Read the rest of this entry »

SMITH COUNTY — An early morning house fire claimed the lives of an elderly couple and their five pets. They’ve been identified as Robert Rockett, 71, and his wife, Debbie, 67. The fire started around 6:00 Saturday morning in the 11200 block of County Road 2206, near Chapel Hill. According to KETK, investigators said the blaze started in the kitchen. The officials cause of the fire has not been determined.

LONGVIEW – Faulty wires are said to be the cause of a Longview fire that has displaced five persons. The fire was reported just before 1:45 Friday morning in the 400 block of Pine Street. The blaze, which had been burning undetected for some time, started in a wall between two bedrooms. It then spread to the attic. No injuries were reported. The home apparently had no working smoke detectors.

TYLER — A Child Protective Services case against an East Texas father whose daughter died after being locked in a hot car last summer has been dropped. According to Shari Pulliam, Public Information Officer for CPS, Russel Lindstrom will no longer have to submit to testing or evaluations by CPS because Lindstrom’s wife and younger daughter, Zoey, moved out of state. According to KETK, Pulliam says because the child no longer resides in Texas, they no longer have a child to protect. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER – A Tyler man has been sentenced to prison for murder. Pleading guilty Friday was Katyron Jermaine Barrett, 29. After pleading guilty to the shooting death of Brandon Deroyce Grey, 30, Barrett was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Grey was shot December 21, 2014, at the Wild Bunch Club, 1714 North Palace. He later died at Mother Frances Hospital. Barrett was arrested in the case two days later.

LUFKIN — A Lufkin man accused of fatally shooting his wife in February has been indicted by the Angelina County Grand Jury. Named this week in the indictment is Joshua Dale Ingram, 31. Acting on a tip from the suspect’s mother in California, the body of Jessica Ingram, 29, was found in a home on the 400 block of Cunningham Drive. Also found in the home was a three month old baby, who was not harmed. His mother told officers he told her he had shot his wife and was planning on shooting himself. After a three hour search for the suspect, he was found and arrested on Frank Street.

TYLER — The Junior League of Tyler’s inaugural ‘Touch a Truck’ event is scheduled for Saturday. The event will feature big-rigs, tricked out monster trucks, emergency vehicles and much more. Keeping with the name, guests will have full access to these vehicles. Community leaders will be on hand and the emphasis is on the kids. Touch a Truck starts at 10:00 tomorrow morning and runs until 4:00. It’s being held in the south parking lot of Broadway Square Mall (by Sears) and tickets are $5 each or $25 per family.

TYLER – Could there be a run for the White House in Congressman Louie Gohmert’s future? KETK reports The Hill, a Capitol Hill newspaper, asked Gohmert if he would endorse Ted Cruz’s presidential bid. The Tyler Congressman told the paper, “Ted is a good friend and would be an outstanding president; however, I haven’t ruled out an exploratory committee myself.” Later Thursday, an aide told the Texas Tribune that Gohmert was not entirely serious. “Washington D.C. contains too many who do not recognize statements made with a figurative tongue in cheek, sometimes known as being ironic,” the aide emailed to the Texas Tribune. Earlier this year, Gohmert went up against House Speaker John Boehner. Gohmert received only three votes.

KILGORE – If you’re looking for passage of bills in Austin legalizing marijuana in Texas, you may be disappointed. That’s the word from Governor Gregg Abbott who was in East Texas last night to speak at the Rusk County Republican Party’s Lincoln Reagan Dinner. There are several marijuana related bills in the legislature, but Abbott said the legalization of marijuana in this session is highly unlikely. Texting and driving is another issue Abbott is following closely. According to KETK, the governor said he wants to ensure there are no more injuries, deaths or accidents due to texting and driving. And he added, “We need to find the right space between keeping people safe on the road and government micro-managing what people do. My concerns are we going to have laws that prohibit people from eating French fries as they drive down the roadway or where does the law end?” Abbott said he is still looking for clarity on how to draw that line.

MARSHALL – A Harrison County grand jury has indicted a Longview man for sexual assault of a child. Indicted on three counts was Edwin Craig Volcik, 45. Following a lengthy investigation, which was led by federal officials, Volcik was arrested in January at his home on Quail Lane. The Longview News Journal reports it began with an investigation of child pornography, but turned into something more. Investigators believed some of the children had been sexually assaulted.

HOUSTON (AP) — A celebrity booking agency is saying it’s not all right, all right, all right to make public how much the University of Houston is paying actor Matthew McConaughey, a former Longview resident, to speak at the school’s May commencement ceremony. The university has declined to release the information because its contract with Celebrity Talent International includes a confidentiality clause. The school asked the Texas attorney general’s office to issue an opinion on whether such information can be kept private. The Houston Chronicle reports Celebrity Talent International President Glenn Richardson sent a March 9 letter to the attorney general’s office, saying payment and other details in McConaughey’s contract are a trade secret. Richardson also wrote that a reporter could use the information to create “unfair negatives online and take things out of context.”

SULPHUR SPRINGS — A Tyler man allegedly attempting to have sex with a child was arrested late Wednesday in Sulphur Springs. According to KETK, Sulphur Springs Police Chief Jay Sanders said Joshua Strickland, 30, was taken into custody on suspicion of solicitation of a child for sexual conduct and possession of a controlled substance. Strickland is accused of planning the meetup via a Craigslist ad, but in reality, the suspect was talking to an internet crimes against children officer posing as a 15-year-old girl, according to police. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER — Elections officials from all over Texas came to Tyler Wednesday to learn about election day vote centers, according to a Smith County news release. Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson said 68 people attended the workshop, including elections administrators, county clerks, county judges, county commissioners, and election judges from at least 15 counties. Smith County Commissioners JoAnn Hampton, Jeff Warr and Terry Phillips attended. Read the rest of this entry »

TYLER — The City of Tyler Street Department is making repairs to the 400 Block of Shiloh Road at Donnybrook Avenue today. Work started around 8:00 this morning and should be completed around 4:00 this afternoon. Officials say traffic will be diverted to one lane eastbound and one lane westbound on Shiloh Road. Donnybrook Avenue will be closed to all traffic between Shiloh Road and Knoxville Drive. Northbound traffic on Donnybrook Avenue will be detoured to Knoxville Drive. The Street Department encourages travelers to use other routes if possible. Those who must travel through this area are asked to use caution and be prepared to stop.

TYLER — An East Texas man has entered a motion to change his original plea from “not guilty” to “not guilty by reason of insanity” in a 2012 murder-kidnapping that began at a Tyler home. According to KETK, Smith County District Attorney Matt Bingham says James Calvert also refused to consent to a voluntary psychological evaluation by court-appointed experts. Calvert is accused of shooting and killing Jelena Radobanovic Sriraman before kidnapping their son, Lucas, on October 31, 2012. Calvert was captured late that same night in West Monroe, Louisiana, following a short police chase and a crash. In May, 2012, Calvert was involved in a custody battle with Sriraman.

MARSHALL — Multiple reports of a gang fight and gunfire at West End Park on West Rusk Street set the stage for a busy Wednesday night for the Marshall Police Department. According to KETK, reports of a large gang fight were called in to dispatch around 7:00 p.m., but responding officers were unable to locate anything unusual when they arrived. Another large fight, with shots fired, was reported on Paula Street in Bel Air Manor 45 minutes later. Once again the crowd had dispersed before officers arrived. according to police. Officers assigned to the Marshall Criminal Apprehension Team searched the area in an effort to locate the parties involved. Read the rest of this entry »

LUFKIN (AP) – An East Texas man who told investigators he thought people were out to get him faces up to life in prison for starting several fires in Lufkin. Stanford Jones of Lufkin was convicted Wednesday of three counts of arson. Nobody was hurt in the November 2012 fires in Lufkin blamed on Jones, who remains in custody pending sentencing. Prosecutors say Jones posted angry comments online about thinking people wanted to get him and setting a match to Lufkin. One fire happened at a bar where the 34-year-old Jones had been drinking, later got sick and ended up hospitalized. Jones told police that he believed someone drugged him. He tested positive for cocaine and marijuana while hospitalized. The fires started the day after Jones, who has previous drug convictions, was discharged.

GREGG COUNTY — A Houston man received a 25 year prison term after pleading guilty to indecency with a child by sexual contact in Gregg County. Andrew Moses Valero, 44, pleaded guilty to the second-degree felony Monday. Valero has two other charges against him that involve the same child, a 15-year-old girl, who is not related to him. Valero’s sentence begins immediately. However, he also faces two pending felony assault charges in Harris County. He must serve at least half of his 25-year sentence for the Gregg County crime before becoming eligible for parole. Valero also will be required to register as a sexual offender for life after he fulfills his prison term. Valero was arrested in December 2013.